SCENES IN WEST BERLIN DURING THE EARLY DAYS OF THE BERLIN WALL [Allocated Title]

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  • Title: SCENES IN WEST BERLIN DURING THE EARLY DAYS OF THE BERLIN WALL [Allocated Title]
  • Film Number: MGH 7006
  • Other titles:
  • Summary: Amateur film shot by United States Air Force pilot Lieutenant Colonel Arthur W. Wehner in Berlin in the 1960s, while stationed at the Berlin Air Safety Center. Film features daily life in Berlin including the construction and early days of the Berlin Wall, military and civilian life in West Germany and further afield in Europe.
  • Description: REEL ONE 00:00 – Film opens with family scenes in a garden [camera is accidentally turned 90 degrees to the left until 01:58] 03:58 – The Wehner family attend the Grosse Polizeschau (Big Police Show) at the Olympiastadion in West Berlin in September 1964. The show includes various demonstrations of physical agility and ability. Several panning shots reveal that nearly all the seats in the stadium are filled. 06:18 – East German soldier on guard on section of wall looks towards the camera through a set of binoculars, then walks with rifle under his arm towards guard post on the wall where he is joined by other soldiers. 06:31 – East German guard keeps watch from basic style watchtower with corrugated tin panels. Some of the buildings in the background have large coils of barbed wire running along the edge of the roof to deter people from crossing the border. Wider view of watchtower with barbed wire fencing in the foreground. 06:45 – Camera pans up and down the Oberbaum bridge damaged during a bombing raid on Berlin during the Second World War [The bridge connected Kreuzberg. Man in civilian clothing walks towards a concrete section of the wall [this section is slightly underexposed] The wall is topped with large coils of barbed wire and a East German watchtower is visible behind the wall. Brief view of partly obscured sign in German which translates as ‘For Peaceful Coexistance’. 07:02 – Brief shot of crossing into East Berlin. Vehicles including a white Volkswagen Beetle pass through the checkpoint watched by East German guards. Man walks dog along path next to section of wall. Visible behind the wall is the border strip sometimes known as ‘No Man’s Land’ or the ‘death strip’ due to the number of people killed there by East German guards while trying to defect to West Berlin. Camera pans along the wall highlighting the barbed wire coils and the anti-tank devices in ‘No Man’s Land’. 07:16 – Camera pans along sign in German advocating that there be peace and understanding between West and East Germany. Brief shot of guards talking. Out of focus shot of guards patrolling. Brief shot of vehicles driving along road. Family scenes in exterior of restaurant by a river. Brief shot of men looking out of window, one holds up a magazine with image of nude woman visible. 08:20 – Traffic travels along road with buildings heavily damaged during the Second World War visible in the background. Camera focuses on remains of elaborate stone buildings including the Martin-Gropius-Bau, originally a museum and now restored as an exhibition hall, and pans along several buildings clearly damaged during the war. 09:22 – Contrast between old damaged buildings and new buildings. Panning shots of new high rise developments. 09:46 – Scenes at Checkpoint C more commonly known as Checkpoint Charlie, in the American sector in West Berlin, and arguably the best well known of the crossings between West and East Berlin during the Cold War. The famous “You are leaving the American Sector” sign is partly visible in the background. 09:53 – Views of the wall and surrounding area with snow on the ground. The barbed wire coils and anti-tank devices are clearly visible. This scene gives the viewer some sense of just how imposing the wall was. 10:17 – Views of the Kurfürstendamm with the Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church in the background. The church was heavily damaged during a bombing raid in 1943 and only the damaged spire has been retained. A new church has been built next to the spire and this is visible to the left of the damaged spire. Camera zooms in to focus on the spire and pans upwards to show the damage.10:28 – Views of the Berlin Victory Column surrounded by traffic. Brief shot of Mrs Wehner and son Brian sat in a light green Opel Rekord. 10:43 – Brian Wehner plays on large pile of rubble, reminiscent of footage of British children playing in the remains of buildings in London after the end of the war. Camera pans to the right revealing large damaged buildings in the background. Various damaged buildings can be seen as Brian throws stones on the wasteland area. 11:25 – Camera closes in on remains of damaged building. Views of snow covered autobahn with no traffic on it. An M60 Patton tank drives past the camera in a tank convoy. 11:47 – East German guards can be seen walking along the other side of a barbed wire fence partly obscured by tree branches. 11:51 – View from road of watchtower behind barbed wire fence. Camera zooms in on fence and then on the watchtower where a guard is just visible inside the open window. Panning shot along road with barbed wire fencing at the side, towards a checkpoint. Camera pans along the road a second time to show the barbed wire fence, ending with a quick view of the Wehner’s Opel Rekord. 12:23 – View of bomb damaged and partly demolished buildings behind section of the wall. One of the buildings is demolished using explosives. Panning shot reveals warning sign marking the division between the American and Soviet sectors. 12:54 – Family scenes in and around the Wehner residence in West Berlin, including Brian playing around for the camera, feeding ducks and riding a bicycle. 16:03 – View of large car park with mostly German cars parked in the spaces and various military buildings. 16:31 – American servicemen and their families attend a parade to mark Independence Day on July 4th 1964. Various floats pass the camera, one marking 188 years since the Declaration of Independence. American servicemen march past the camera with the American flag flying at intervals behind them. 17:44 – A float charting the development of aviation passes the camera with large scale models the Wright Flyer, an XB-70 Valkyrie bomber and a Gemini spacecraft, and men dressed to represent one of the Wright Brothers, a pilot and an astronaut. 18:04 – Another float representing the US Army Medical Service in Berlin passes the camera followed by one paying tribute to the 15th anniversary of the Berlin Airlift with large models of some of the aircradt used during the operation. 18:29 – Scenes at Tempelhof Airfield. Long panning shot of airfield apron with American servicemen in the background. Servicemen parade carrying the American flag and the USAF flag. Three Bell 47 helicopters make a very low level pass along the front of the crowdline, carrying placards with the words “Auf Wiedershen Major Saylor”. Very brief shot of interior of house. 20:31 – Scenes around Berlin. Views of the Soviet War Memorial at Tiergarten flanked by two T-34 tanks and two ML-20 152mm howitzer guns. The camera zooms in to highlight the text on the memorial, wreaths left at the memorial and the guards on duty. 20:47 – Views of the Brandenburg Gate from the British sector behind the wall. Sign visible warning of the end of the British sector of West Berlin (Achtung! Sie Verlassen Jetzt West Berlin) Camera zooms in on the quadriga on top of the monument, highlighting the absence of the Iron Cross, which had been removed by the East Germans after the end of the Second World War, perceiving it as a sign of Prussian militarism. The Iron Cross was returned to the monument following the reunification of Germany in 1990. 21:09 – Shot of Mrs Wehner and Brian on a large path in Berlin. The Wehner family and others view the memorial at Tiergaten from behind a barrier. Further views of the memorial panning across to the Brandenburg Gate in the background. Brief out of focus shot of Brian running across a road towards the camera.21:51 – Further close up views of the quadriga on the Brandenburg Gate. Signpost for Bernauer Strasse, one of the most significant streets in the Berlin Wall’s history. People climb up a wooden dias to look over the wall. Camera pans across almost empty street covered in a light scattering of snow, with very few people and vehicles. Another group of people climb another wooden dias to look over the wall into East Berlin. Camera pans along empty boarded up building on the street and then back along the street towards the Church of Reconciliation. Camera zooms in on large billboard on side of building. 22:35 - Family scenes at Christmas time. Snow scenes. Brian celebrates his birthday with his friends. Brian and friends play a game of baseball, continuing an American tradition many miles from home. 26:18 – Views of a section of the wall being rebuilt/reinforced using concrete blocks. West and East German guards watch as concrete sections are lowered into position. 26:46 – Further family scenes at Christmas time and marking Brian’s birthday. 28:55 – The Wehner family holiday in Holland at Easter time, visiting Amsterdam. 30:57 – The Wehner drive along an autobahn near Berlin, passing a sign declaring that all USAREUR vehicles must stop at the checkpoint ahead. The car passes a long queue of stationary traffic waiting to pass through the checkpoint. As the car travels along the road people can be seen stood at the roadside waving at the passing vehicles. 31:57 – At the checkpoint Brian runs towards a sign instructing travellers to stop and report at the checkpoint, and poses by the sign. The Wehners proceed through the checkpoint into the Soviet zone, passing a sign warning that for the next two miles travellers will be in this zone. The family drive through the Soviet zone passing watchtowers at the side of the road and a T-34 tank mounted as part of a small Soviet war memorial by the side of the road. The car passes under a bridge with a number of people stood watching the passing traffic and crosses back into the US sector.32:30 – M60 Patton tanks of the US Army travel through Berlin. Long panning shot towards the Reichstag building with various flags flying in the grounds around the building. Just inside West Berlin, the Reichstag was undergoing a partial restoration at the time of filming after being heavily damaged during the latter stages of the Second World War. Two large banners can be seen outside the building – “Berlin Gehort Zur Freien Welt” (Berlin belongs to the free world) and “Mehr Soziale Sicherhele’ (More social security) Reel ends with a close up shot of the exterior of the front of the building and the banners. REEL TWO 00:00 – The Wehner family visit the city of Munich, inside the American Zone of Occupation. Scenes in the Marienplatz, the central square in the city. Particularly of note is the New Town Hall. Travelling by car through Munich the family pass the remains of a building partly destroyed during the Second World War and then built around post-war. Views of the Munich skyline. 00:55 – View from car window of large observation tower possibly the Atomium in Brussels. Family holiday in the Netherlands, including scenes in Amsterdam and a visit to some tulip fields and displays. 07:48 – M60 Patton tanks and other US Army military vehicles drive through Berlin watched by several young boys, one dressed in a military style outfit and pointing a toy gun at one of the tanks as it passes. 08:30 – The Wehner family holiday in Italy and Germany. 15:26 – The Wehner family visit a memorial to the Jews murdered at Dachau concentration camp during the Holocaust. 15:46 – Scenes in West Berlin. The camera pans along the edge of a section of the wall looking across to deserted buildings in East Berlin, focusing on a sign warning of the dangers of crossing the wall into East Berlin. The camera pans along the danger strip highlighting the anti-tank devices and coiled barbed wire fencing. Several people some in USAF uniform stand on a wooden dias to look over the divide to East Berlin. Brief shot taken from moving vehicle of guards watching as the vehicle passes. 16:27 – Three men (two in USAF uniform, the third possibly Art Wehner in civilian clothing) walk past the rebuilt Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church. Brief shot of Art Wehner in full uniform in a garden, holding a cigarette and talking to the camera. 16:57 – Family scenes in garden in West Berlin. 17:36 – The Wehner family visit the General Walker Hotel in the Bavarian countryside (used as a military hospital during the Second World War the hotel was heavily damaged during the Obsersalzberg air raid in April 1945 and was rebuilt post-war as an Armed Forces Recreation Center)17:42 – Sign above the entrance to the tunnel that leads to the Kehlsteinhaus (Eagle’s Nest) built by the Nazi regime in 1938 and used by senior party personnel including Adolf Hitler. Visitors including the Wehner walk along a stony path on the summit. Several panning shots of the Bavarian scenery. 19:00 – Mrs Wehner and Brian walk towards the summit. Further views of the scenery. 20:46 – Brief view of the main sign welcoming visitors to the Kehlsteinhaus. Further scenic views of Bavaria. 25:32 – Family scenes in West Berlin celebrating Thanksgiving. Snow scenes in West Berlin. 26:54 – The Wehner family visit the 1964 New York World’s Fair in New York City. Views of the various pavillions filmed from a high building. Several shots of the Unisphere, a large metal sculpture built to mark the beginning of the space race. Film ends at 32:54.
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  • Object_Number: MGH 7006
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  • Access Conditions: NON-IWM
  • Featured Period: 1946-1975
  • Production Date: 1963
  • Production Country:West Germany
  • Production Details:Wehner, Arthur W
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